The Modern Leader series: Change communications – PR Daily

Modern leadership attribute No. 2: Proactively communicate during times of change (even when you don’t have all the answers)

One of the biggest traps leaders fall into is waiting to communicate, thinking they need more time to gather more facts or additional clarity and context. This tendency holds leaders back even more today when there’s been so much change and uncertainty, making it nearly impossible to keep up with everything that’s happening.

While leaders wait to communicate, the “information vacuum” fills, whether we want it to or not. Said another way, while leaders wait to communicate, the grapevine communicates for us and most often perpetuates misinformation and myths that then require cleanup.

A better strategy is to communicate proactively. For most of us, that means not waiting — using planned touchpoints as a key cadence. If more time-sensitive, separate communications can be done.

Chances are there is more leaders know that would be valuable for employees than they might think, which merits a communication touchpoint.

Think of it as 3+1 when communicating:

Here’s what we KNOW
Here’s what we DON’T KNOW
Here’s what we’re working on FINDING OUT
+
Proactively BUST MYTHS.

For example, you might say. “I want to address something I heard that’s not true” — and then share exactly what it is and what you know and don’t know. Busting myths is a critical step that leaders must do proactively, but often miss.

Read on to get more insights on communicating during times of change.

About The Modern Leader series

Discover actionable insights released biweekly, designed to help you elevate your own leadership impact and drive the business results you seek.

So, how do you know if you’re a modern leader?

Modern leaders create business value by prioritizing critical business opportunities and challenges, leading and empowering those around them, and embracing everyday and defining moments to deliver meaningful impact.

Through new research with The Harris Poll (publishing Summer 2025), we’ve discovered six core attributes that make modern leaders most effective. They:

• Lead with gratitude​
• Listen and empathize​
• Foster an inclusive culture​
• Connect strategy with employee growth​
• Calibrate communication​
• Enable employee success​

To see additional ways you can differentiate yourself as a modern leader, check out the collection of modern leadership attributes (added bi-weekly) here.

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